Cam actuated latch



Sept. 17, 1968 c. TESTA ET AL 3,401,968

CAM ACTUATED LATCH Filed June 23, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 p 1968 c. TESTAET AL CAM ACTUATED LATCH 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 23, 1966 UnitedStates ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a latch forsecuring a cover to an enclosure. It consists of a spring projectedpivoted hook mounted on the cover and adapted to engage a keeper on theenclosure. The hook is both held in disengaged position and cammed todisengaged position by a finger operated plunger member.

The present invention relates to a latch for containers such as luggage,jewelry cases or the like. More particularly, it relates to a latch inwhich the movement of a single pushbar actuates the latch so that thecontainer on which it is mounted can be readily opened.

Latches designed for use on containers such as jewelry cases and luggageshould combine the features of pleasing appearance and compact designwith ease of operation and simple construction.

A pleasing and quality appearance is important since the quality ofcontainers such as luggage is often measured by the quality of theirhardware. Because these conatent 3,451,968 Patented Sept. 17, 1968 ingdetailed description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present latch in open position,mounted on a hinged container.

FIGURE 2 is a lateral sectional view of the latch plate assembly takenalong the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view showing in disassenibly thevarious parts of the hook assembly of the cam actuated latch of thepresent invention.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view showing in disassembly thevarious parts of the plate assembly of the latch of this invention.

FIGURE 5 is an elevated section of the interior of the latchconstruction when in the closed position.

FIGURE 6 is an elevated section of the interior of the latchconstruction when in the disengaged position.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

In general, and with reference to FIGURE 1, the latch of the presentinvention is designed to be used as a closure for a hinged containersuch as luggage, or the like. A

hook assembly 8 containing a hook 10 and an alignment tainers arerelatively small, compact design of hardware becomes more important.Such a compactly designed latch may be attached in a limited area on thecontainer and encased in a housing which blends with the containerdesign.

Because of its small size such a latch requires ease of operation, andmanipulation with one hand is important since the usual mounting is inpairs. Quick and positive engagement and disengagement of the latch ishighly desirable to eliminate fumbling with small parts; spring biasingaids in this regard. In addition, spring biasing minimizes slippagebetween parts and provides a solid feel, so important in quality inluggage hardware,

Latches used on small containers constitute an appreciable factor intotal container cost. The latch should, therefore, be simple in designand require no more than a minimal number of readily formed parts.However, quality appearance and ease of operation must be maintainedeven though the construction is simplified.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide acam actuated latch of simple construction and compact design.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a latch of theabove character which is easily installed, eflicient in operation andpleasing in appearance.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a latch of theabove character which can be manufactured inexpensively with a minimumamount of labor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a latch of theabove character which lends itself to use on small containers.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combintaions of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be. had to the followstud 12 is attached to the hingedcover 14 of a container 15. A plate assembly 16 containing a catch 18,an alignment slot 20 and a pushbar 22, is attached to the container base24. When cover 14 is closed, alignment stud 12 enters alignment slot 20'and guides hook 10 into engagement with catch 18 securing cover 14 in ashut position. Hook 10 can be disengaged from catch 18, as describedhereinafter, by pushing upwardly on push'bar 22. Once hook 10 has beendisengaged, cover 14 can be easily opened.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, hook assembly '8 0f the present latch isshown in disassembly. It comprises a backing plate 26 having two tabs 28extending rearwardly thereof which are used to attach the hook assemblyto a container top 14 (FIGURE 1). An integral flange 30 extends thelenght of backing plate 26 and two spacers 32 project forwardly from itssides. An integral alignment stud 12 projects downardly from backingplate 26 adjacent one end thereof. An upstanding circular rim 34 isformed on the front of backing plate 26 about hole 36, to

. edge projecting through a clearance slot 38 in flange 30 and with asurface 44 adjacent a stop 40 at the bottom of plate 26. A lug portion46 of hook 10 projects downwardly, and an extension 48 of the hook has acam surface 50 and a wedging surface 52 adjacent but spaced from lugportion 46. A spring retaining flange 54 is positioned immediately aboveextension 48.

Backing plate 26 with hook 10 pivotally mounted interfits with a hookhousing 56 (FIGURES 3 and 5), flange 30 and spacers 32 abutting the rearsurface 58 of housing 56. A V-shaped spring 60 is compressed and mountedin hook housing 56 (FIGURE 5) with its upper arm 62 engaging flange 30on backing plate 26 and its lower arm 64 biasing on flange 54 of hookmember 10. Tabs 65a, 65b and 65% (FIGURE 3) are bent over backing plate26 to complete the assemblage 8. This hook assembly 8 can then bemounted on cover 14 of a hinged container 15 (FIGURE 1).

The plate assembly 16 (shown in FIGURE 4) comprises a housing 66 havingan alignment slot 20 formed in its top surface 70. An aperture 68 in top70 adjacent alignment slot 20 has an edge 71 forming a portion of catch18 by engaging lug 46 (FIGURE 3) on hook 10 (FIGURE 5) when in closedposition. A keyhole 72 is formed in the face 74 of plate housing 66 andbottom flanges 76 extend rearwardly therefrom (FIGURE 4).

As seen in FIGURE 4, a pushbar guide 78 fits in plate housing 66 (FIGURE2) having a keyhole 81} in alignment with plate housing keyhole 72;upper and lower flanges 82 fit under top 70 and the flanges 76 ofhousing 66. Edge 84 of one of the flanges 82 acts with edge 71 ofhousing 66 to form catch 18, as seen in FIGURES and 6. Two guide rails86a and 86b extend rearwardly from the ends of pushbar guide 78, eachterminating in a tab 88; these may be used to secure assembly 16 to thecontainer in alignment with hook assembly 8 as shown in FIGURE 2.

Pushbar 22 (FIGURES l and 4) between guide rails 86a and 86b (FIGURES 2and 5) is mounted for vertical sliding. A cam actuator projection 90protrudes from the upper edge of pushbar 22 and its upper surface 92 isrounded for sliding contact with camrning surface 50 of hook member asseen in FIGURE 5. A locking dowl 94 extends perpendicularly from theback surface of pushbar 22.

A tumbler 96 (FIGURES 4 and 5) is mounted in plate assembly 16 behindpushbar 22 with an edge 98 thereof in contact with guide rail 86a(FIGURE 5). Tumbler 96 and locking dowl 94 form part of a lock mechanismto be described.

A backing member 100 (FIGURE 4) contains two vertical slots 182 spacedto accommodate tabs 88 on pushbar guide 78. A flange 104 projects fromthe front surface of backing member 100 to support the bottom edge 106of tumbler 96 when the parts are assembled in the plate assembly(FIGURES 5 and 6). Two spacing tabs 108 extend from the front surface ofbacking member 100 to abut the face 74 of plate housing 66. These tabs108 provide clearance in the plate assembly 16 so that pushbar 22 andtumbler 96 can slide in their respective directions. A detent 110protrudes from the front surface of backing member 100 and forms stillanother portion of the lock mechanism. Backing member 100 contains thecomponent parts of plate assembly 16 with tabs 112 on plate housing 66extending thereover as shown in FIGURE 2.

Operation of latch Referring to FIGURE 1, when cover 14 of container isclosed alignment stud 12 enters alignment slot and aligns hook assembly8 with plate assembly 16. The positioning function of alignment stud 12is most important, particularly where container 15 is slightly warped oroverfilled and cover 14 and base 24 are out of alignment. As alignmentstud 12 moves into alignment slot 20, the edge 46a of lug 46 contactsthe edge 71 of catch 18 causing hook 10 to pivot clockwise about axle 34to compress spring 60 finally to the position shown in FIGURE 6. As tip46b (FIGURE 5) of lug 46 clears edge 84 of catch 18, spring 60 urgeshook 10 in a counterclockwise direction whereby lug 46 securely engagescatch 18 as shown in FIGURE 5. Container 15 is thereby held firmly in aclosed position.

To open the latch, pushbar 22 is pressed upwardly (FIGURES 5 and 6).Rounded surface 92 of cam actuator 90 contacts camming surface 50causing book 10 to pivot clockwise. Spring 60 is thus caused tocompress, while lug 46 is disengaged from catch 18. As tip 48a of cam 48rotates past tip 90a of cam actuator 90 (FIGURE 5), cam actuator 90snaps into contact with wedging surface 52 of hook 10 as shown in FIGURE6. Spring 60 wedges the pushbar 22 between wedging surface 52 and guiderail 86a. The lug 46 is thereby held disengaged from catch 18 andcontainer top 14 is readily opened. Accidental re-engagement of thelatch cannot occur with the latch in this disengaged position.

Upon opening the container, wedging surface 52 of cam 48 slides past camactuator 90 in the direction of the arrow in FIGURE 6. When tip 48a ofcam 48 clears tip 90a of cam actuator 90, the wedging force is releasedand pushbar 22 slides downwardly in pushbar guides 86a and 86b. Hook 10quickly rotates counterclockwise about axle 34 due to the biasing actionof spring until it contacts stop 40. The latch at this point is shownmost clearly in FIGURE 1, in its open position.

Operation of lock mechanism- As shown most clearly in FIGURE 5, tumbler96 is supported between flange 104 on backing member and upper flanges82 on pushbar guides 78, and can slide from side to side as indicated bythe arrows in FIGURE 4. As best seen in FIGURE 2, protruding detent onbacking member 101 engages the arm 113 of tumbler 96 and preventstumbler 96 from sliding from side to side in normal use of the latch.The latch, as shown in FIGURE 5, is in an unlocked position.

To lock the mechanism, a key is inserted through keyholes 72 and 80(FIGURE 2) in plate housing 66 and pushbar guide 78 respectively, andinto key aperture 114 (FIGURE 4) in tumbler 96 where the key may bearagainst either shoulder 116 or shoulder 118. The end of the key pivotsin a hole 120 in backing member 100. As best seen in FIGURE 5, turningthe key in a counterclockwise direction will cause it to bear againstshoulder 116 causing tumbler 96 to slide to the left, Tumbler 96 slidesover detent 110, which is slightly depressed thereby, until detent 110snaps into locking engagement with detent hole 122. Simultaneously,ledge 124 of tumbler 96 moves locking dowl 94 on pushbar 22. Thus,pushbar 22 is locked against upward movement and cam actuator 90 cannotcoact with cam 48 to disengage hook 10 from catch 18. In the positiondescribed, the latch is locked.

Turning the key in a clockwise direction (FIGURE 5) will cause it tobear against shoulder 118 thereby moving tumbler 96 to the right. Thisremoves ledge 124 from the path of locking dowl 94 leaving pushbar 22free to slide and placing the latch in an unlocked position as shown inFIGURE 5.

Numerous advantages are obtained with the present latch construction.The design is simple and compact and readily lends itself to attachmentto small containers. In addition, the parts can be readily andinexpensively formed by stamping.

The latch is easy to operate, only one hand being required to actuatethe single pushbar 22. Further, the wedging action between pushbar 22and hook 10 eliminates the chance of accidental re-engagement of thelatch before the container top is opened. Thus, inconvenience to theoperator is minimized. Also, the latch mechanism is spring biasedproviding for rapid and positive engagement and disengagament whileminimizing slippage between component parts.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efiiciently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as amatter of language, fall therebetween.

Having described our invention, What we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A latch for securing the cover and base of a hinged containercomprising, in combination:

(A) a hook assembly adapted for attachment to said cover, said hookassembly comprising (1) a hook pivotally mounted in said hook assemblyand having (a) means thereon for engaging a catch to secure saidcontainer when said cover is closed,

(b) a camming surface (i) integral therewith, and (ii) oriented so thatpressure exerted thereon will cause said hook to pivot out of engagementwith said catch; (B) a plate assembly adapted for attachment to saidbase, said plate assembly comprising (1) a catch (a) aligned to engagesaid hook when said cover is closed, (2) a pushbar (a) mounted in saidplate assembly, and

(b) slidable along a path in said plate assembly in a directionsubstantially normal to the axis of said hook,

(c) said pushbar having an actuator projecting therefrom which is inalignment with said camming surface when said cover is closed, and

(d) holding means on said actuator engageable with said hook forreleasably maintaining said hook disengaged from said catch until saidlatch is opened,

whereby movement of said pushbar toward said hook causes said actuatorto slidably bear against and exert pressure on said camming surface topivot said hook out of engagement with said catch.

2. A latch as defined in claim 1 further comprising integrated lockingmeans movable between locked and unlocked positions, said lockedposition serving to block the movement of said actuating means therebypreventing the disengagement of said book from said catch when saidcover is closed.

3. A latch as defined in claim 1 having a spring compressively mountedin said hook assembly in contact with said hook whereby said hook isbiased about said axle in a direction opposite to the direction of thepressure exerted by said actuating means when moved against said cammingsurface.

4. A latch as defined in claim 1 having a stud pr0truding from one saidassembly and means forming an aperture in the other said assembly forreceiving said stud whereby said hook assembly is aligned with saidplate assembly when said cover is closed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,044,500 6/1936 Geske et a1.292254 2,446,113 7/ 1948 Spiller 29230 2,478,434 8/1949 Swanson 70-70 X2,485,012 10/1949 Palmer et a1 292-205 X 3,188,839 6/1965 Humphries70-70 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner.

